Data for: An experimental study of cyberstander reactions under community-related influences. When gender complicates matters.

Our main research question focused on investigating whether and to what extent the four major factors and their potential interactions have a relevant influence on cyberstanders’ reactions. The participants (N=1859) were randomly assigned online to eight experimental conditions, in a 2x2x2x2 factorial design. The measurement instrument was a self-responded online questionnaire measuring the reaction to witnessing cyberbullying behavior.

Our analysis identified significant effects of community rules, framing, and gender on the reaction of cyberbullying, but there was no similar effect of community rules. While specific combinations of community-related factors had a statistically significant effect on cyberstanders’ response, their effect sizes were small. We concluded that the impact of online community environmental features on individual response to cyberbullying is limited and can vary as a function of gender.

Our results may indicate lower levels of social conformity in the communication environment specific to social network sites. Furthermore, these results suggest that the impact of gender on certain behavioral outcomes transcends the offline environment and manifests also within the virtual environment. Future research should continue and refine the study of the impact of various combinations of environmental factors on cyberstander reaction.

Virtual communities might use framing and awareness-raising in increasing active resistance to cyberbullying.